Anti-Islam film: HC seeks replies by Centre, others on PIL

September 26, 2012 19:19 IST

The Bombay high court on Wedneday issued notices to the Centre, Maharashtra government and others on the petition seeking removal of the controversial anti-Islam film `The Innocence of Muslims' from the Internet.

Division bench of Justices S A Bobade and Rajesh Ketkar sought replies of the respondents in two weeks. The other respondents to the PIL include Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Google Inc.

The film, made in USA, recently sparked off violent protests in the middle-east and also in Pakistan.

The PIL, filed by local Congress member Ameen Mustafa Idrisi, also

demands criminal action against top officers of Google for letting the film that has "hurt the religious feelings" of Muslims across the world to be online.

It seeks action against Google and YouTube under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, 2000,

said petitioner's lawyer Ejaz Naqvi.

Also, the non-Muslim cast and crew of the "outrageous and offensive film" should be booked for insulting the Prophet Mohammed,

the petition says.

If

the film is not removed from the search engines, serious law and order problems could arise, it says.